The Steps to Falling in Love
by AlreadyOnMars
Summary: When Phineas realizes that he likes Isabella, and Ferb tells him the usual steps of falling in love, Phineas decides to try to woo Isabella by following those instructions.
1. The First Step

Isabella was annoyed. It had been slightly over 6 years since Phineas first built that rollercoaster in their backyard, and even as they got older, Phineas and Ferb kept making their great inventions. Phineas and Isabella's relationship had progressed nowhere. The boy was still totally clueless as to Isabella's feelings, though he was beginning to have some more-than-friendly thoughts about her. Isabella was now, in addition to 'cute', considered pretty by most people. Isabella was annoyed because of their lack of a romantic relationship, and also the lack of Phineas's desire to begin a romantic relationship, that is, until this day. On this day, Isabella received news that her grandfather had died. The two were close, and Isabella was devastated.

"Isabella? What's wrong?" Phineas asked his crying friend.

"My grandfather just died." Isabella managed to tell him through her tears.

"I'm so sorry, i-is there anything I can do?" Phineas asked. As talented with mechanics as he was, Phineas was almost utterly clueless when it came to human emotion.

"Just sit here with me, that would be nice," she replied. Phineas sat down next to her, nothing more, then Isabella leaned into him, her head resting on his chest. Phineas was surprised for a few moments, then relaxed into it, resting his head on hers. Tears stained Phineas's shirt, not that he minded at all. After a while, her sobs subsided and she looked up at Phineas.

"You know, you're really pretty. Even when you're crying." Phineas said, looking tenderly into her eyes.

"You- you think I'm pretty?" Isabella hiccoughed through the remnants of her tears.

"Well, sure! If you're not pretty, then neither are the stars in the sky," replied Phineas. The boy blushed as he realized what had just happened. Isabella looked down, a smile on her face and red covering her cheeks as she noticed how Phineas inadvertently admitted that he thought her to be pretty.

"That's for that Phineas, it made my day a little brighter."

"Any time, hun." Phineas froze as he grasped the potential gaffe of his language. He glanced over at Isabella, and though she was blushing, she smiled as well, and Phineas realized that he could relax.

Isabella, on the other hand, was beyond excited. She wanted to tease Phineas for the little bit of affection that he let himself show her, but decided against it, and instead might use this for teasing material later in their relationship, when they got together. That is, _if_, they got together.

"Come on, I'll walk you home," Phineas said with a smile. They walked together, shoulders nearly touching, but no other contact. "How about you can come up with what we do tomorrow? Would that help make you feel better?"

"I think so, Phineas. I'll start thinking of some things to do." Isabella smiled widely at Phineas just as they arrived at her house. His gaze lingered on her retreating form before he turned and walked across the street to return to his house.

Later that night, Isabella went bowling at a local lane with the Fireside Girls troupe. After they started their game, Isabella had a faraway look on her face.

"Any developments in Phineas-land?" Gretchen asked as she sat down next to Isabella after her turn and grabbed a onion ring.

"Actually, yes there have been," she replied. Immediately all of the other girls crowded around the table to hear what their troupe leader was going to say. "As you all know, my grandfather died yesterday. I was crying in the park, because my mother called me with the news, but Phineas walked up to me and started consoling me! He let me rest my head on his shoulder, and then, after I was mostly finished crying, he called me pretty," the girls broke into excited chatter around her. "Just wait- then, he called me _hun_."

"A pet name, ooh," teased Addison. Isabella blushed slightly.

Across town that same night, Phineas told his brother what happened that day. "I didn't even think about it! It just slipped out, I told her she was pretty, and _then_, I called her _hun_. Ferb, What's happening?"

Ferb smiled knowingly. "Isn't it obvious? You fancy Isabella."

"Fancy?" Phineas replied, confused.

Ferb rolled his eyes. "You like her. As more than a friend."

Phineas considered this for a moment. "Oh, my gosh," he finally whispered. "I- I think I do like Isabella."

Ferb rolled his eyes again and looked back down at his book. "Ferb you've got to help me. What can I do?"

Ferb exhaled sharply and put down his book. "Well, I know you two are close already, but you're closer as friends. Try to be more physical with her, hold hands for starters."

"Okay, then what?" Phineas asked frantically

"Are you trying to exact love down to a science? Phineas, just do whatever feels right."

"But I don't know what feels right! I only really realized my feelings for her about a minute ago! What order did things go in with you and Ella?" Phineas was referring to Ferb's girlfriend of seven months.

"With Ella, things came naturally. I admitted she was pretty, we held hands, we hugged, we cuddled, we kissed, it's not an exact science. You and Isabella might not be ready for some of these things yet. You have to make sure that _both_ of you are comfortable." As Ferb talked about Ella, a small smile graced his face, though as he finished and looked back up at his brother, it vanished, and it was replaced with a stern look.

"Thanks, Ferb. At least I know what order I should try to do things in."

"No, Phineas, that was not a guide for you to-" Phineas had left. Ferb sighed. He loved his brother, but occasionally, and especially in human interaction, Phineas could be utterly clueless.

* * *

**AN: Hi everyone! I haven't actually posted a story in a long time, but I had sudden inspiration! This should be approximately 5 or 6 chapters, I haven't exactly decided yet. I'm going to try to have each chapter 1000 words or more. I hope you'll enjoy it!**


	2. The Second Step

The next day, Phineas went over to Isabella's house at her request. When he got there, he found her eating breakfast, still in her pajamas.

"Hey Isabella," he said as he walked into the kitchen. "Did you figure out what you want to do today?"

"I was thinking that we could do some sort of obstacle course? The troupe of Fireside girls I'm the co-counsellor of needs their patch for that." Isabella responded.

"That can be done! How long would you like it to be?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe about 15 or so things to get across," suggested Isabella.

"I'll be right on it. Come over to my house around 10:30 and it'll be finished."

"Thanks so much Phineas! I really appreciate it."

"No problem!" Phineas replied as he walked back to his backyard.

"Okay Ferb, ready to make an obstacle course?" Phineas rubbed his hands together while talking to his brother who was flipping through a Popular Mechanics magazine under the tree in their backyard.

"Is this for Isabella?" Ferb asked with a sly smile. In six years, he had become far more talkative than when he was ten, his British accent proving to be quite an asset with the ladies.

Phineas blushed slightly, not used to having his brother know about his feelings for Isabella. "Yes. The Fireside girls troupe she helps with needs a patch."

"You do realize that in six years, absolutely nothing has changed." Ferb remarked. Phineas looked at him quizzically. "Six years ago, you were building things to help Isabella get her Fireside girl patches. Now, you're doing the exact same thing."

Phineas's eyebrows raised. "I guess you're right Ferb. Maybe I liked her even back then." Ferb rolled his eyes as Phineas turned around. "Okay then, we're going to need three industrial sized fans, two hundred and fifty metres of rope and some arugula."

Later that afternoon, Isabella walked over to find a large, rectangular box in their backyard. And by large, she meant approximately twice the size of their house. It didn't have any visible windows or doors and was a solid grey colour with slightly visible stones.

"Do you like it?" Phineas walked up behind her, and she jumped.

"Phineas! You startled me. It certainly looks nice. What's inside it?" Isabella asked, holding a hand to her chest.

"Here, I'll give you a tour." Phineas held her hand out for her to grab, but she ignored it and walked right past. His face fell slightly; his plan wasn't starting right. He rushed in front of her and pointed to a certain brick on the smooth face of the wall. "You have to press this brick to enter," Phineas explained while a patch of grass opened up beneath their feet, sucking them down into a tube which eventually pushed them up into the building. The first obstacle was a series of rocks with Latin characters on them, and on the far wall, a word in Greek. "So the girls will have to jump from stone to stone to spell the word on the far wall, when the door over there will open."

"Is this Greek?" Isabella asked. Phineas nodded. "Awesome! So they can get their Greek-reading patches at the same time!"

Phineas chuckled and continued. "I've deactivated it now, so we can walk wherever, but we have to mind the gaps," before he could even put his hand out, Isabella was halfway across the field of stones and nearly to the door. Phineas scowled to himself as he stalked across the room.

After fourteen more rooms, and failed attempts at hand-holding, they were through the course. Phineas was extremely saddened by his failure at hand-holding with Isabella, and while she and the Fireside girls went through the course, he went to talk to Ferb.

"Ferb, nothing worked! In every room I held my hand out for Isabella, but she just ran off in front of me."

"I told you yesterday not to rush it! Things should come naturally to you. When I first realized I liked Ella, it was at _least_ two weeks until we held hands." Ferb explained to his distraught brother.

"But I held hands with her all throughout that haunted house that we built for her! It was so easy then," said Phineas, plopping down on the couch next to Ferb.

"We were also ten then, girls are easier to figure out when they're ten," Ferb replied.

"Does Isabella even _like_ me? Maybe she was ignoring me because she only wants to be friends."

Ferb looked down at his book. After the gang had flown around the world and Isabella had poured her feelings out to Ferb when they were stranded on the island, Isabella made him promise to never tell anyone, and especially not Phineas. "While I can't tell you the specifics, I assure you that Isabella definitely favours you."

* * *

Isabella dropped onto her bed, the springs creaking slightly. After her troupe finished the obstacle course, it was nearly time for dinner, so she had no time to thank Phineas. As she was undoing her shoes, she thought about the events of earlier that day. Each time they moved on to a different room, Phineas held his hand out for her. _Could it mean-_ she thought _No, Phineas was only being a gentleman._ Nevertheless, her stomach had done somersaults each time it happened, and after fourteen times, she was nearly about to throw up. The reason she didn't accept his hand once? She- well, she didn't know really, but it just didn't feel like the right time, especially if Phineas _wasn't _just being polite.

Two days later, Isabella learned the date of her Grandfather's funeral. She was the only grandchild her age, and she didn't want to be alone. That's why she walked over to the Flynn-Fletcher house and knocked on the door. Phineas answered.

"Hey Isabella." Phineas was slightly surprised. Even though she was here almost every day, she almost never came this early. Phineas was still in his pyjamas. "What're you doing here so early?" Phineas rubbed his face with one hand, still trying to wake up.

"Oh did I wake you up? I'm so sorry," said Isabella, a worried look crossing her face.

"Naw, it's fine, I just didn't get to sleep until late last night," he replied, leaning against the doorframe. This was true, he stayed up for hours trying to figure out why Isabella wouldn't hold his hand yesterday.

"Well, I'm afraid it's kind of bad news, I came to invite you to come with me to my grandfather's funeral."

"Are you sure no one would mind having me there? I mean, I didn't even know the guy," Phineas asked, although he wouldn't mind going anywhere with Isabella.

"No, I asked my mum already."

"Well, sure then. When is it?"

"Two weeks from tomorrow," Isabella replied.

"I'll be there," Phineas said quickly.

* * *

Two weeks later, Phineas was dressed up in a suit, Isabella in a black dress driving to the funeral. They got to the cemetery, where there were already people gathered around the grave site. Isabella bit her lip, suddenly sad. They walked up a hill together and stood at the edge of the crowd. Isabella was to say a short piece near the end of the ceremony, so she prepared herself for that.

The time had come for her to say her piece so she stepped up to the front of the crowd. "I adored my grandfather, he was a mentor to me and an inspiration to us all, and he will be sorely missed." This was said quietly, nearly a whisper and when Isabella turned back to stand next to Phineas, he saw there were tears in her eyes. He gave a small supportive smile as she slid into place next to him.

Their hands dangled dangerously close to each others' , less than a centimetre between them, and then, Isabella laced her fingers with Phineas's. Their fingers fit together perfectly, and in spite of himself, Phineas smiled.

Maybe he didn't need contraptions for everything after all.

* * *

**AN: I realize this is a little bit silly because they have held hands before, but I think that, for Phineas at least, it wouldn't have held as much emotion, and would be more guiding Isabella around. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. The Third Step

Phineas decided for the next step of his master plan to woo Isabella, he wouldn't try quite so hard as when they held hands. After all, they had hugged before, so it wouldn't be that big of a step for them. They weren't planning on doing anything big today. The Flynn-Fletcher family was going to the beach today, and since the delivery company stopped shipping underwater, their plans would have to go on hold for the day.

At the moment that Isabella walked in through the family's back gate, Phineas was crawling around the backyard looking for his sunglasses. Therefore, the first thing Isabella saw was Phineas with his bum in the air and nose close to the ground "Hey Phineas... Whatcha doin?" She said her catchphrase slowly, eyes narrowed at the strange sight before her.

Phineas looked up, not expecting anyone over. "Oh hi Isabella. I was looking for my sunglasses and Ferb said that I left them out here yesterday, but I can't see them anywhere," he responded, scratching his neck.

Isabella glanced around for a few seconds. "Is that them, up in the tree?"

Phineas looked up, then looked puzzled. "How on Earth did they get up there?" he wondered aloud as he stretched to reach them.

Isabella chuckled slightly as Phineas turned back around. "So what _are _ you doing today?"

"No big plans today, I'm afraid. We're going to the beach," after a moment's hesitation, he added "Would you like to come? We aren't leaving for another twenty minutes."

Isabella bit her lip. The last time she had gone to the beach with Phineas was when she was ten, and they were with their entire group of friends. "I'd love to," she said. "Let me just go ask my mother."

"Okay, we'll wait for you. Candace still has to decide which bathing suit to wear."

Approximately ten minutes later, Isabella came back with a beach bag and sunglasses on her forehead. The Flynn-Fletchers were waiting by the car for her to return.

"I'm so glad you're joining us, Isabella," Linda said "Your mother said it was okay, right?"

"Of course Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher. She also said to say hi to you and she hopes you're still on for bridge next Wednesday."

"I'll have to call her when we get back," Linda commented. The kids, along with Laurence and Linda piled into the van and set off to the beach. As soon as they were out of the driveway, Ferb put headphones into his ears and rested his head on the window.

Phineas turned to Isabella as this was normal behaviour for Ferb on car trips. Usually he had to amuse himself for the ride, but he could talk to Isabella now.

"So, Isabella, what's your favourite thing that we did this summer?" Phineas asked, beginning the conversation.

"Oh, I don't know Phineas... I really liked when we put on the stage version of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. You were an amazing Captain Hammer." Isabella said. She smiled at the boy beside her, recalling the humorous musical they had staged earlier in the summer. Ferb had played the main character, Dr. Horrible, Phineas had played the self-absorbed hero Captain Hammer, who was more of an antagonist in the plot, and Isabella had played the innocent Penny.

"That was a lot of fun," Phineas said. He nodded his head in agreement with Isabella. He enjoyed being the jerk for once, and as a bonus, he got to kiss Isabella on the cheek. Technically in the original script, they were supposed to actually kiss, but neither one wanted to do that on stage in front of their friends or parents.

The pair reminisced about the funny things that happened when they were rehearsing and how Ferb built a working Freeze Ray for use in the play. They started laughing about some of their better acting in that play.

"Actually, I think my favourite part of this summer so far was when Buford, Baljeet and Ferb competed in that mock video game tournament when Ferb was Bowser and Buford and Baljeet were Mario and Luigi. That was hilarious!" Phineas chuckled at the memory of his brother in a full-sized Bowser suit with working flame action.

All the way to the beach, Phineas and Isabella discussed their adventures both this summer, and previous summers. After a while, their topic of conversation drifted to other topics and before they knew it, they were at the beach.

Everyone climbed out of the car and stretched, glad to finally be out of the cramped van. The entire group made their way to an open spot on the beach, save Candace who was attempting to get cell service from where she was.

Linda pitched an umbrella in the sand and began to get out her books and snacks. Ferb sat underneath the umbrella and began to read. Phineas and Isabella put down their bags, got out their towels and swimming goggles and ran towards the water. The sand was hot beneath their feet, so stepping into the cool water was a relief for the pair of walked out farther and farther until the water was up to Isabella's chin and Phineas's shoulder. The waves caused them to bob up and down in the water as they swam about.

After a long while, Ferb walked out to join them. The trio then ended up having a splash fight. "Phineas, stop!" squealed Isabella. She had just got ocean water in her mouth for the fifth time and was sick of the taste.

"I won't stop until Ferb stops trying to push me underwater!" Phineas shouted. All of a sudden, Isabella disappeared under the water. Phineas and Ferb stop their roughhousing immediately, looked at each other and decided upon a plan of action.

Ferb began swimming, and later running towards the shore to retrieve a lifeguard or Linda, and Phineas went underwater to see if he could spot Isabella.

Underwater, it was hard for Phineas to see much of anything. The water was murky with sand and people's legs were everywhere. However, after a few minutes, Phineas noticed the girl he was searching for about twenty metres ahead of him. He swam forward as fast as he could towards her.

Isabella was caught in a bit of seaweed and had gotten pulled by the undercurrent farther away from her group. Unfortunately, Isabella had swallowed some seawater, then tried to cough it out, losing most of the air from her lungs. Phineas swam towards the limp figure of Isabella. He tried to pull her away from the seaweed, only to have it pull back. He rolled his eyes and leaned down to where the offending piece of aquatic greenery was wrapped around Isabella's ankle. Phineas tugged at it until it finally snapped, leaving Isabella free to move. That is, if she could.

Phineas pulled her up to the surface and started to swim back to shore. When he was almost back, Phineas felt Isabella move against his back, if only slightly. He got her ashore and placed her down on the sand. Ferb immediately checked her for injuries.

"She's breathing," he declared. Just as he moved out of the way, Isabella coughed and sat up, spitting out a bit of seawater. Everyone that was crowded around her breathed a sigh of relief as she continued to cough.

Phineas, thankful that she wasn't hurt or dead, reached his arms around her, embracing her as tight as he could without hurting her. "Thank goodness you're okay," he breathed into her hair.

With a small smile, Isabella returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around the boy.

"Maybe you should stay on land for the rest of the day," Phineas said, pulling back from their hug. Isabella chuckled at that, and nodded. As she turned to sit under the umbrella with Linda, Phineas smiled.

_ Step three can now be checked off. _He thought.

* * *

**AN: **Hi there! It's been a while hasn't it? Anyways, that was due to my obsessive studying for exams, then exams themselves. But I'm back now, so all is right in the world. I also quite enjoy Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, in case you didn't catch my reference in this chapter. If you're approximately 13, you should go watch it! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	4. The Fourth Step

Phineas thought his plan was going quite swimmingly. Over the course of two weeks, he had gotten past the first three steps that Ferb had placed for him to follow. He decided that he wanted to talk to Ferb a little more about what was happening, so he approached his brother after dinner one night.

"Hey Ferb," Phineas said. He approached his brother easily. Phineas always felt comfortable talking with his brother about topics like these. "So, I've been doing all those steps to fall in love like you told me to, but so far it's just been things that we've done already. We've held hands before, and hugged before."

Ferb looked up from his laptop and closed it when he saw the worried look on his brother's face. "Phineas, that's how things went for me and Ella. She only moved here this year and you've known Isabella since we were five! There's bound to be some kind of difference in your relationship than ours," The green-haired boy told his brother.

Phineas seemed to be slightly surprised at this revelation. "So what do you suggest to make it different?"

"Well, for one you could probably ask her on a date before the point that I did."

"I don't know if I'm really ready to go on a date alone with her," confessed Phineas. His eyes were slightly downcast.

"Well, then don't go alone with her. Invite her to accompany you to a social event. There's that bonfire coming up this week, why don't you ask her to that. Everyone in the neighbourhood will be there. It'll take some of the pressure off." Ferb smiled at his brother. He was happy to help with anything Phineas came to him with.

"Alright. So after that what could I do?"

"Well, next you could come on a double date with me and Ella, or if you feel comfortable enough, go out by yourselves."

Phineas nodded, considering his brother's words carefully. "Thanks, bro."

Isabella sat down at the table with Ginger and Gretchen, stirring her iced coffee with a straw.

"How've things been going with Phineas?" Ginger asked after a sip of her drink.

"Actually, better than they have been for a long time," The girls looked at her with interest. "He's been kind of more- how do I put it? more forward, I guess would be the term."

"Really?" Gretchen squealed. Isabella nodded with a smile. "So, like what's been happening then?"

"Well, he's been trying to hold my hand more than usual, and we've hugged a lot more than usual for the past few weeks. It's almost like he's following a plan about how to date someone."

The girls giggled about that for a little before returning to conversation. "So do you think he'll ask you out soon?" Ginger said. She took a bite of the brownie she just purchased.

"I really hope so. Phineas is the only guy I've ever liked, since we were seven." Isabella confessed. The Mexican-Jewish girl reminisced about the first time she ever saw Phineas, as they were pulling into the driveway with their moving van. Little did she realize that for the next years of her life, Phineas would become such an important person. Snapping out of the trance, she looked down at her phone, checking the time, then jumping up when she realized she was going to be late. "I'll see you guys later, I'm going to be late for yoga." Isabella grabbed her bag and left the coffee shop.

"Those two are so getting married." Gretchen smirked at Ginger as they, too left the shop.

Later in the week, Isabella popped over to the Flynn-Fletcher household after she saw a five story Newton's Cradle in their backyard.

"Hey there. Whatcha doin?" Isabella poked her head around the back gate, finding the two brothers examining blueprints.

"Hey Isabella. We're trying to build a giant Newton's Cradle to see if the properties are the same even when applied in larger scale." Phineas explained to Isabella while leading her closer to the experiment.

"Uhh, Phineas? You do realize that the balls will hit everything within a block from here right?"

"Yep, we planned for that. Hit it Ferb!" Over by the fence Ferb hit a button on a small metallic remote control and all the houses and fences on their block disappeared into the ground. "Don't worry, we cleared it with everyone on the street first." Phineas said, replying to Isabella's worried look. "Let's start it up, Ferb!"

Ferb pressed a different button and the ball farthest from him began to rise until it was level with the bar at the top. He pressed the button again and the ball dropped, proceeding then to hit the second one, which prompted the ball closed to Ferb to swing up, nearly to the metal bar holding up the contraption.

"It worked! Excellent. Okay Ferb, let's call the company to help us dismantle it." As he finished the sentence a large bowling ball dropped on the Newton's cradle, crushing it, and rolled away, taking the remains of the large device with it.

"Well, that was easy," said Isabella, eyebrows raised.

"I'll say." Phineas replied. "Hey, Isabella, you know that bonfire tonight?" Phineas was visibly nervous, evidenced from the twisting of his hands and the way his eyes flitted around.

Isabella's eyes lit up and her posture straightened. Hopefully he was going to ask what she thought he was. "Yes?" Her voice displayed her excitement.

"I was, um, wondering if you, uh, would liketogowithme?" He sped through the last bit, heart pounding before adding, "And beforehand I was thinking that maybe that you and I and Ferb and Ella could grab a bite to eat?"

Isabella bit her lip, so happy she could barely breathe. She wanted to scream she was so excited. Internally, she reminded herself to calm down so she didn't scream in his face like she felt like she was going to. "Yeah, I'd love to do that," her smile looked about ready to break her face it was so wide.

Phineas returned the smile with equal enthusiasm. "Great, well, we'll be at your house at five then."

"Great, I'll see you then." Isabella left and waited until she was a safe distance away until she began squealing.

Ferb walked up beside his brother, a small smile on his face. "I'm proud of you Phineas. And a little annoyed." Phineas looked up at his brother. Ferb sighed. "I don't mind that much, but you could have checked with me before asking about a double date. Ella and I were going to go to the movies before the bonfire."

"Oh. Sorry bro. Ella won't mind though, right?"

"She shouldn't. She's been wanting to spend more time with my family, plus there wasn't a movie that we wanted to see that badly."

"Thanks, Ferb. I really appreciate it. I don't think I could go on a date with Isabella by myself just yet."

"Not an issue, Phineas. I'll always help you with anything you need."

"Oh, gosh. What will I do? What will I wear?" Isabella wailed into her cell phone. She was rummaging through her closet, looking for an outfit that would work well for both the dinner, and the bonfire.

"Calm down Isabella." Gretchen said to her. "What about that one blue lace shirt you have with that one belt and some white pants?" She held the phone between her shoulder and cheek as she dipped the nail polish brush back into its pot.

"No, I don't really want to wear white pants, especially since the bonfire is outside." Isabella shoved aside an old pair of pajamas before the idea came to her. "What about my loose floral skirt and a blue top?"

"That would be good," Gretchen replied. "Things seem to be speeding up between you two, aren't they?"

"Yeah," replied Isabella "It's almost like he's followed some kind of plan to woo me or something." She pulled out the aforementioned outfit as the two girls giggled.

Across the street in the Flynn-Fletcher household, the two brothers were dressed and waiting for the time to go pick up Isabella. Ella was planning on arriving at their house, so they wouldn't have to go out of their way just to pick her up. The doorbell rang and Ferb went downstairs to answer. Phineas followed, at a distance. As he arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Ella was laughing at something Ferb said. She turned to look at Phineas.

"Hey," she greeted him. Ella was tall, taller than Phineas anyway, but not quite taller than Ferb. She had light brown hair which she wore short, often with a hairband to keep her bangs out of her bright green eyes. She had a small amount of freckles sprinkled over her nose and cheeks.

"Hey Ella," Phineas responded, though distantly.

"Are you excited for your date with Isabella?" She asked.

"Yeah, definitely." Phineas seemed absent-minded as he answered the question. The trio made their way across the street to pick up Isabella, who was pushed out of the doorway by her mother. Phineas smiled as his date staggered to his side. "You look great," he commented. Isabella blushed at the compliment.

The four young people walked a few blocks to a small, inexpensive restaurant. The atmosphere was light and happy inside the establishment, eclectic pieces of furniture and colourful curtains blocking off the private section. The group sat down and ordered sandwiches and lemonades.

Over dinner, the conversation was mainly about what everyone's schedules were for the school year, commenting on the teachers that they had and their past experiences.

After they were finished their dinners, they headed to the bonfire, which was in the park. As they walked, Phineas weaved his fingers through Isabella's smiling at her. Isabella blushed, not used to attention from Phineas. There was a DJ setting up as well as some people carrying firewood into the pit that had been made.

"Since the bonfire's not starting for another little while, why don't we split up and go for a walk?" Ferb suggested, wrapping an arm around Ella's waist. She kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, sure." Phineas replied. The two couples went their separate ways. It had been getting somewhat chillier as of late, signifying the end of summer.

During their walk, Phineas and Isabella talked about books they had read and the few TV shows they watched. Much of the walk was consumed by a comfortable silence. By the time they had reached the area of the bonfire, it was in full swing, people dancing, as well as a few people that were just standing around talking.

"C'mon, Phineas! Let's dance!" Isabella led Phineas to the dancing area and the pair started dancing. Isabella laughed when Phineas attempted some of the moves that his step brother could do, and laughed even harder when he tried out some of the funniest moves she had ever seen. After a few songs it transitioned into a slower one, and Phineas slid his hands around Isabella's waist. He left quite a gap between them before Isabella closed that gap and went to rest her head on his shoulder. Phineas jumped, a little surprised, but slowly smiled and rested his head atop hers.

A few songs later, and Isabella was exhausted. She and Phineas walked over to one of the logs surrounding the bonfire and they sat down. Isabella yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "Phew. I'm beat. Do you mind if we just sit here for a little bit?"

"No, no not at all." Phineas said with a small smile. Isabella yawned again, then shivered. "Are you cold? I wish I had a jacket to offer you..." Phineas said before wrapping his arms around the cold girl. Isabella bit her lip, pleased with the way things were progressing.

Feeling bold, Isabella swung her legs over Phineas's lap and leaned into him. Both of their hearts were pounding, happy that this was happening the way it was.

Isabella decided that she enjoyed being cuddled. She loved Phineas's body warming hers and firm yet soft muscle beneath her. It was a perfect, peaceful feeling. _I could live right here for the rest of my life._ Thought Isabella.

Phineas was having the same feeling. Isabella was soft and cooling against his overheated skin. He felt so needed with her wrapped in his arms. To him, this was serenity. _I wish I'd never have to leave this place. _Phineas thought.

At that moment in time, both Phineas and Isabella realized that they were exactly where they were supposed to be.

* * *

**I am SO sorry for taking such a long time to update. I hadn't been feeling my best earlier in the summer, and then we went on vacation for two weeks, and then I got my laptop taken away from me. This chapter is a little longer than the others, so hopefully that makes up for it. I hope to get the final chapter up sooner than I got this up, but I make no promises. Until next time.**


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